Tomasz Kosowski Rests His Defense Without Calling A Single Witness

The ongoing murder trial of Dr. Tomasz Kosowski at the Pinellas County Circuit Court in Clearwater, Florida, intrigues true crime followers because there’s been a lot of back-and-forth between Judge Joseph A. Bulone and the defendant who chose to defend himself.

Now that the prosecution rested its case, read on to find out what happened.

Self-Defended Case

Kosowski is accused of murdering attorney Steven Cozzi and subsequently disposing of his body in a dumpster.

The former Florida plastic surgeon previously waived his right to a jury and opted for a bench trial. On Tuesday, after the prosecution rested its case, it was Kosowski’s turn to decide what came next.

Judge Bulone explained his options, including calling witnesses, taking the stand himself, or presenting no defense case at all.

Unexpectedly, Kosowski chose to rest his defense without calling a witness to the stand or offering his own testimony.

Acquittal Motion

The judge asked Tomasz Kosowski if he wanted to make a standard motion for judgment of acquittal. Kosowski admitted that he didn’t know what the motion was.

So, Bulone explained that it was an argument asserting the state failed to prove a prima facie case, adding, “it’s always a really good idea to do that.”

“Okay, let’s do it,” Kosowski replied.

Judge Bulone immediately denied the motion, though he noted that making it preserved the issue for appellate review.

Evidence Issues

Before the court could transition fully to closing arguments, Kosowski interrupted the judge to clarify that he wasn’t completely finished.

He said, “Well, your honor, hold on. Doesn’t mean I’m done.”

He asked if he could enter an excerpt from the trial testimony of witness Kevin Corgan as a defense exhibit.

Judge Bulone said, “Well, that’s not really admissible. I mean, you can argue whatever you want in closing arguments if you want to do a closing argument as to what he said.”

He emphasized that “transcripts from depositions are not admissible.”

When asked if he wanted standby counsel for the remainder of the trial, Kosowski responded, “No, I’ll speak for myself.”

Crime Watchers Seem Perplexed

True crime viewers who watched the proceedings on the Law&Crime Trials’ YouTube channel seemed a bit perplexed, because throughout his trial, he seems to have made some rather odd choices.

Historically, the former plastic surgeon had made a fuss about the microphone, objecting to it in case he wanted to talk to himself.

He’d also repeatedly objected during the witness testimony by a forensic digital expert, complaining that in jail, he didn’t have access to equipment to look at MP4s.

Nonetheless, in a previous hearing, the judge had anticipated multiple objections.

A Lot At Risk

What is perplexing to many folks is how much Kosowski has at stake. If convicted of first-degree murder, he could face the death penalty or life imprisonment without parole.

His decision to represent himself is particularly unusual given the seriousness of the charge and potential sentence.

Kosowski made several unusal choices because he waived a jury, opted for a bench trial and then elected to represent himself without an attorney taking the lead, despite having standby counsel present.

And declining to call any witness to testify in his own defense seems like a bit of a head-scratcher.

Viewers React

This time around, some people seemed amused by the back-and-forth that went down.

One person wrote, “Yeah, I knew going in that he wasn’t going to testify,” adding that it was still “worth watching again to hear the judge tell him about the judgment for acquittal and then immediately tell him no.”

Another commenter pointed out the inherent humor in the judge explaining that an acquittal means the state lacked evidence, only to deny Kosowski’s motion right after he agreed to make it.

“In other words judge is finding you guilty,” they quipped.

Others questioned his strategy in court. One person wrote, “This man is obviously neither intelligent or self-aware enough to properly represent himself in this trial. His ego is too big.”

A few people commented on the judge’s patience, with one of them saying, “The Judge has been very kind to the defendant to help him defend himself, as is his right,” adding that the judge seemed very understanding.

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